(Kyiv) Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of deliberately delaying more than 165 grain ships by prolonging inspections carried out under an agreement reached on such crucial deliveries for many countries in Africa and Asia.
Posted yesterday at 2:51 p.m.
“Since October 14, 2022, Russian inspectors assigned to the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul have significantly extended the inspection of vessels heading to Ukrainian ports to receive grain or which have already been loaded and are on their way. for their final destination,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“As a result, more than 165 ships are stuck in a queue near the Bosphorus Strait and this number continues to increase every day,” he added, denouncing “politically motivated” delays.
The Coordination Center confirmed the congestion on Monday evening, specifying that “more than 170 ships”, empty or loaded, are waiting off Istanbul to be inspected to continue their journey, while with “the new harvest, the silos Ukrainians are in danger of being full again”.
The JCC, which had already warned of the traffic jams at the gates of the Bosphorus at the beginning of the month, which it attributed in part to the shipowners, “is concerned about these delays which risk disrupting the supply chain and port operations”, he said in a statement.
The Coordination Center brings together representatives of the signatory parties to the agreement — Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations — and now has five inspection teams, he adds.
Each team is made up of eight people, two for each game.
“Over the past few days, the Center has started registering new cargo ships joining the Ukrainian Grains Initiative”, he continues, “regretting the inconvenience caused [par la situation] to the maritime transport and trade industry.
According to the Ukrainian ministry, the delays concern three million tonnes of grain intended to supply 10 million people.
He accused Moscow of “undermining global food security” and called on the international community to put pressure on Moscow.
According to the JCC’s latest count on Monday evening, more than 8.5 million tonnes of grain and other agricultural products have been able to leave Ukrainian ports since 1er August and the entry into force of the agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already accused Russia on Friday of “deliberately” delaying the passage of ships. According to him, China, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq, Lebanon or the Maghreb countries are among the states affected by these delays.
Russia and Ukraine had agreed in July to resume Ukrainian grain exports, halted since the start of the war in late February, after an agreement sponsored by the UN and Turkey.
Russia later criticized the deal, saying its own exports were hampered by the sanctions.